Posts Tagged ‘Justice’

It Took a Month, But It Was Worth the Wait

Friday, January 30th, 2009

To be honest, I was a little disappointed with the way our generally insatiable electro community rang in the new year at the start of this month.  Seeing as a good chunk of the people that spend their daytime hours reading this blog are fanatically energetic partygoers who run around in colorful clothes screaming things like, “All I do is party, ha ha ha ha!” I expected that the opportunity to define the sound of 2009 would have had nearly every worthwhile producer scrambling to outcompete everyone else’s tracks, in what would–erm… should–have been a sonic battle of epic proportions.  Unfortunately, I was (for the most part) let down.

technique

That is until about two days ago, when, for some strange and completely unknown reason, the electronic anthems that should have been blasting at our new years parties started pouring into my inbox. I can only assume that the worlds most respected and admired producers were suffering from the effects of the same musical drought that I myself (and I would expect most of you would include yourselves as well) had been struggling through, and were therefor compelled to tap into their reserves and quench this unexpected and entirely unnecessary audio thirst, because after listening to a third consecutive sweaty, peak hour banger, I found myself struggling to convince myself that I was, indeed, at home at my computer, and not losing my mind on a hotly animated dance floor. (And no, Daft Punk was not playing at my house.)

Chewy Chocolate Cookies & JFK

jfk

Considering everything the guy touches turns to gold, I feel it’s quite unnecessary to have to comment on the quality and originality of JFK’s work, but may I say that when combined with the blurry confusion of Chewy Chocolate Cookies, it only gets crazier. In fact, placing this track first may have been a mistake, seeing as it’s a gamble as to whether you’ll be capable of reading any further once this smeared mess of sound has been rubbed all over your face.

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Alexander Technique – Nightlovers (JFK & Chewie Chocolate Cookies Remix)

SPA and Steve Aoki

steve aoki

Now is definitely an opportune time to make yourself aware of Dim Mak’s newly signed artist, SPA, seeing as your failure to acknowledge their increasingly loud presence in this tightly knit community could result in a flat out slap to the face; You’ll be owned harder than the meathead in DJ Mehdi’s Signatune video. If you ever cared to know what the soundtrack to Steve Aoki’s life sounds like, here’s your chance to find out.

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SPA – Pets Dance (Steve Aoki Remix)

The Bloody Beetroots

You heard Cornelius. You thought it was a sick track. But you had no idea there was a music video coming, and you were certainly not prepared. The fact that the whole thing was filmed using the generic handicam seems to suggest that The Bloody Beetroots have keenly embraced Justice’s now notorious cinematography, however, the style with which it was put together is able to truly capture the sense of complete chaoss and loss of control far more vividly than either A Cross the Universe or Soulwax’s Part of the Weekend Never Dies even came close to delivering, and it’s only three minutes long!

This needs no further explanation. Watch the video, and trust me when I say you won’t regret it.


CORNELIUS from borntofilm on Vimeo

Is anyone having more fun than Justice?

Monday, January 12th, 2009

 


French electro/house duo Justice has given us just one CD and a dozen or so remixes, but that hasn’t stopped them from becoming one of the biggest acts of the year. Their recently released CD/DVD A Cross the Universe is an audio recording of their March 2008 Show in San Francisco coupled with a self-made video of their North American tour.

 

Loud enough yet?

Loud enough yet?

 

The audio CD has one of the most intense sets I’ve heard from Justice. Every song seems to hit harder than the last. Listen to them play the MSTRKRFT remix of D.A.N.C.E. and then add even more drums over it. The original version of “We Are Your Friends” isn’t quite enough, so they play it over a Metallica sample for good measure. Justice shines by doing things like that to keep their music exciting– adding one more synth or drumbeat and completely changing the feel of the song. This CD is the best recording I’ve heard that conveys the energy of a Justice concert. And you won’t hurt your ears or go blind from the light show.

 

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D.A.N.C.E. (Part 2) (Metallica Sample)

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We Are Your Friends (Reprise)

 

 

 

The accompanying DVD isn’t the standard concert DVD that I was hoping for, but rather a look at the backstage lives of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay. A handful of clips from live shows really don’t give us a good idea of a Justice concert.  Could any DVD, really? Even though the sound is bad and the camera a little shaky, looking at the passion of the crowd reminds the viewer that Justice has already achieved cult-status and are not far from the top. It’s certainly entertaining to see what the two members of Justice are like when they’re not performing. Daft Punk won’t even let us see their faces, these guys let us see it all– alcohol, chain smoking, fast food, a Las Vegas wedding, two arrests, and a lot of late night partying. Justice is out to prove that you don’t need to play an instrument to live like a rock star.

What Might the New Year Have In Store?

Monday, December 15th, 2008

Times are clearly changing. Our fellow bloggers at Missingtoof have lost their way, and it seems their last lonely post has turned into an enormous mob of angry internet surfers holding their virtual picket signs explaining that “Nu Rave is dead”. Personally, I never much appreciated the term “Nu Rave”, but the turn of events is nonetheless something to think about. Have people already become bored with the genre that was so impossibly popular not even a year ago? Or are the die hard electro addicts simply frustrated at the fact that a more extensive audience has begun to latch onto the music that once belonged to a couple hundred Roxy regulars?

TV Eyes


It was thinking about this that ended up throwing me into my own personal time machine through my collection of music from years ago. I’d almost forgotten that before 2006, electro, new disco, and “nu rave” were all simply lumped into the massive “techno” category, which basically served as the focus of all disrespect and contempt in the music industry. Such a reputation eliminated the possibility of fame in the industry, and certainly prevented the countless numbers of awful aspiring bedroom producers from drawing up a myspace and trying for success. It eliminated the fame, and the glory. And in its place, we saw producers who truly loved their music. To the point where every track was golden. In fact, flipping through this little collection of a time before Justice is making me nostalgic for a musical world that has, in the last three years, ceased to exist.

Seeing as I can’t seem to find any record of this particular artist ever having been blogged, I suppose it’s only fair to share with you, the musically cultured people of the world, the epitome of cool before it was cool, TV Eyes.

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TV Eyes – She’s a Study

What’s With All These English Speakers?

Thursday, December 4th, 2008

There’s a certain aspect of the indie electronic scene that I’ve never been able to understand: Why is it that (in a large number of cases), the country that an artist comes from has almost nothing to do with the language in which they do their work? For a genre of music that holds some serious power in a huge number of countries around the world, it seems we’ve developed an overabundance of English speakers. I mean, obviously, there’s some sense in a British, Canadian, or American artist putting out an English record, but look at Daft Punk, Justice, Digitalism, and The Bloody Beetroots; All huge names from non-English speaking countries, and yet all of their albums, lyrics, websites, and promos are done in English.



In a certain respect, I suppose there is a bit of sense in the concept of “appealing to a larger audience”, but who’s to say that English speakers would not buy it if they couldn’t understand it? Justice doesn’t seem to have much trouble making their way throughout the rest of the European countries. And I realize that some of your minds are likely filling up with fury at the fact that I would think to complain about having so much music written for me to listen to, but personally, I feel that though it is indeed nice to hear and understand words in my native tongue, that I have lost a part of music that’s even more important to me.

Think about it this way. Musicians (and don’t hold me to this, because I’m sure there are several significant exceptions), do not become musicians because of their overflowing need to deliver their poetry; They would otherwise simply have become poets. Musicians become musicians because they want to create, feel, understand, and live for the music, and as such, I don’t believe lyrics need to be understood for the message in a song to be delivered. Sigur Ros, for example, chooses to make use of their native Icelandic, a language spoken by less than 300,000 people worldwide, for most of their music, and this has allowed us as listeners to devote attention to the emotion in their vocalist’s voice, without the worry of being distracted by his words. Needless to say, the success of the band has, in no way, been hindered by the choice.

I suppose my goal here was to address this matter, rather than to provide an explanation. Considering I don’t have any real evidence with which to draw conclusions, I’d be delighted to hear from anyone who’s got anything to say on the subject, however, before you go commenting, I should leave you with my latest discovery to ponder…

Familjen

I’m entirely thrilled that a simple stroke of luck put me in touch with Familjen, a curious producer and vocalist from Stockholm, Sweden. His work, though it makes use of the expected driving kick drum like so many these days have come to know, captures a style that I believe its fair to say has not been heard before. His tracks develop in a fashion that could be considered highly simplistic, and yet the huge amount of invisible detail in them gives them a bit of a spark that moves them into an unusually satisfying dimension. The best part about it, however: His vocals (and just about everything else for that matter) happen to be composed entirely in Swedish.

Quality beats, indeed.

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Familjen – Det Snurrar I Min Skalle

Busy Busy Busy P

Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008

Busy P was, is, and always will be where it’s at. I don’t know where this guy gets his ideas from, but whether he’s got a tank of manatees pulling musical notes out of a pile or he simply purchased a relentless creativity chip from some weird corner of Ikea, anyone who’s owned a pair of headphones within the last year can tell you that the guy has got more musical gravity than just about any other entity in the electro universe. I suppose I could discuss his having detected the potential of multiple internationally successful artists before their sounds were even remotely popular (The guy opted to manage Daft Punk way back in the early nineties, before they’d even acquired a record label, and I’m guessing we’ve all heard the rags to riches story of Justice’s one-song, chance encounter with Mr. Winter. Look where they ended up!), but I feel that there’s even more glowing potential in the French Producer/Ed Banger owner’s own original works. Where most producers tend to have a decent ear for what people know and love to hear, Busy P has the considerably rarer ability to know what listeners don’t know they want to hear. Confused? Let me explain:

Remember 2006? Of course you do. That was the year Justice released their turn-the-world-upside-down Cross album, and hence, that was the year that the electronic scene was driven entirely by steady kick-snare beats and tricky, glitched out transitions. But while our faithful Justice and their nine-hundred spinoff counterparts were all following the same 123 bpm formula, Busy P had already begun to push his standards to entirely different places. Personally, I was drawn in by the Rainbow Man EP, which, though it drew several elements from the trendy hits of the time, had an unusually sedated drive to it, which managed to make it that much heavier. From there, though, colors started flying. A few months ago, To Protect and Entertain tapped into the Electro/hip hop crossover genre (one that happens to have become more than just a bit popular as of late) at a time when few more than The Chemical Brothers had even touched it, and apparently having already moved on, P’s latest track, a remix of Das Pop‘s Underground, has nearly combined the weird Helium voices of Bass Kleph’s aptly titled work with a mess of frumpy, windy, slidy synths that’ve got me saying nothing but mmmmmm mmm MmnmLOL. Let me assure you that no matter how you try, it’s likely impossible to comprehend Busy P‘s train of thought, but if you take the time to appreciate this mix friendly blend of whacky confusion, (in addition to grabbing one of the most well produced tracks in quite a while), you might, at least for the moment, feel like you have some sort of clue as to what’s going on.

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Das Pop – Underground (Busy P remix)

And just so I don’t leave you with only a single track with which to occupy the rest of our night, I figure I should probably help spread the latest by Van She Tech (special thanks to Discodust for the heads up). The track has got a definite Russ Chimes feel to it (I guess the Nu-Disco-ish influence is spreading), but a careful bit of side chaining every now and again definitely gives it a unique touch. Sometimes I wonder just how far off the map Van She Tech would have to wander to screw up a mix. Thus far, I’m convinced they’re invincible.

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Walter Meego – Forever (Van She Tech remix)

Dim Mak Presents: Everything You Thought You Couldn’t Have

Friday, September 5th, 2008

I must say it’s been quite some time since we’ve heard almost anything from the Ed Banger crew. I have this strange inkling that Justice might well have been struck with the misfortune of sailing off the edge of the earth in their gallant search for a proverbial new world, and even the immovable, longtime members seem to be shying the news as of late. But hush children, I assure you, there’s no need to worry; Though it may seem as though our beloved team of groundbreaking artists have hidden themselves away in their laboratories, you’ve simply found yourself at the mercy of a well kept secret. See, our good friends over at Dim Mak have (incase you failed to notice the exclusive appearance of Mr. Pedro Winter himself only a month ago) all the while been supplying LA’s truest disco fans with a constant stream of awe inspiring dj sets and sweaty, sweaty parties (think underground railroad), and, though it saddens me to say it, you’ve been missing out!

Fortunately, you shan’t be left in the dark yet again, seeing as Dim Mak has officially gone all out on their upcoming Avalon-strocity of a dance party and has managed (by means of some ridiculous supernatural power) to summon the dj Feadz to make Los Angeles sparkle upon the night of the 12th of September. (That means you’ve got a little over a week to go ahead and cancel all your appointments and such. Don’t worry, you didn’t really need to go to them anyway) Considering a live Feadz headliner has become somewhat of a rarity since the inception of Uffie, it goes without saying that this isn’t something you’re going to want to miss. And as if that’s not enough for your metaphorically Irish electro tolerance, I suggest you take a look at the rest of the lineup. We’ve got Kid Cudi (I’m sure you’ve heard Crookers‘ Embrace the Martian?), Paparazzi, Them Jeans (If you’re unfamiliar, you must live in a cave), and the notorious Hyphy Crunk, all waiting to help you lace up your dancing shoes. Sure, a couple of those names do indeed frequent LA, however, having them all to yourself together in one night is pushing insanity.

For those of you who’re finding yourselves a tad confused, here’s a couple tasters to get your blood running hot. I trust the next couple minutes shall ensure that I’ll be seeing you there.

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Feadz – Go On Beef (Mr. Oizo Remix)

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Feadz feat. Spank Rock – Back It Up

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Kill the Noise – Hey You (Paparazzi Remix)